Interview with the 2024-2025 Reveille Yearbook Editors

Photo courtesy of Google

With the yearbook reveal upcoming and my own position as one of the Vestavia Hills High School Reveille yearbook editors, I thought it’d be a wonderful idea to ask myself and the other two editors (Blakeley Ferguson and Addison Ringer) some questions about the yearbook and our role as editors!

1. What’s your favorite thing about being a yearbook editor?

Sidney Grace: I love connecting with the staff and getting to see everyone work together to make such an incredible book. It’s cool to see how everyone designs things differently and how people from all different backgrounds and organizations can come together to tell the story of the year.

Blakeley: One of my favorite things about being a yearbook editor is definitely the community that we’ve built here at the Reveille, not just with our staff members but also with our wonderful sponsors. Another thing I love is my role as graphic designer. It’s been a lot of fun to explore that creative aspect of the yearbook.

Addison: I love getting to work with our staff and getting to edit pictures to tell a story.

2. What’s your favorite division to work on?

Sidney Grace: I’m partial to senior ads just because I was a senior ads section editor last year. It definitely takes up a good chunk of time with how many there are and how careful you have to be to not get anything wrong, but in the end, it's so rewarding seeing the finished product.

Blakeley: I was feature’s editor last year, and I love seeing the spotlights we do on our fall fundraiser, homecoming week, poetry out loud, and so much more. I love that we get to feature different groups from the school that aren’t necessarily represented as much sometimes.

Addison: I really enjoy sports because I love taking sports photos, so I get to incorporate that to help tell a story.

3. What job skills has working on the yearbook given you?

Sidney Grace: It’s given me various job skills like allocating tasks, organizing spreadsheets, and messaging with other professionals. I feel like I’ve gained more professional skills since being an editor that will definitely help me in my future career!

Blakeley: It’s giving me job skills like meeting deadlines as well as different leadership qualities. Being able to lead a group or lead a division lets you teach others how to do things, which can be helpful in the workforce. I think it’s also given me an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone. I didn’t think journalism was my thing because I’ve never been a super creative person, but I’ve learned that I’ve always kind of been creative, just in different ways, and yearbook is my way.

Addison: Professionalism. I know now how to write a professional email, communicate with businesses, and communicate with other people like coaches and teachers. I’ve also learned how to use Photoshop, which is helpful for photography!

4. What do you wish more people knew about the yearbook/being an editor?

Sidney Grace: The editors start planning out the book in July, and we work on it until mid-March, so it’s not just something that’s finished in a couple of months; it takes a very long time. There’s also a lot more that goes into it than just putting pictures on a page. There are endless spreadsheets mapping out where everything goes and how many pages we need to allot a certain division and so on.

Blakeley: I wish that people knew it’s not something we do in a couple of months, but we do it throughout the whole school year and put our hearts into it for two hours every day. I would love for people to know that there are different jobs you can do, like graphic design, photography, organization, and more.

Addison: It takes a lot of time and meticulous editing. I think people think that it all just comes together magically, but it doesn’t.

5. What’s the hardest thing about your job?

Sidney Grace: The days can be long, especially the closer we get to a deadline, and it can be difficult to let ourselves take a break and a step back to gain more motivation.

Blakeley: Focusing on deadlines can sometimes be difficult, as well as making sure that everyone is putting their best foot forward in a timely manner.

Addison: I think giving constructive criticism is hard because I don’t want to be mean or tell people they’re wrong, but I also understand they need to learn because I can’t correct every mistake. I’m a big believer in learning from your mistakes.

6. What advice would you give next year’s editors?

Sidney Grace: Make time for the staff, and don’t beat yourself up if it’s overwhelming in the beginning. It takes a few weeks to get used to the shift in responsibility, but I know y’all will do great once you’re in the swing of things!

Blakeley: I would advise them to stay positive while being goal-oriented to make sure they’re not trudging away on the computer every day. Go and create friends with the yearbook staff because the ones I've made are priceless. Make sure to balance friendships with getting your work done and keeping your energy up.

Addison: Be involved with the staff and give constructive criticism so that later, you don’t have to correct little mistakes along the way. 

I speak for myself, Blakeley, and Addison when I say we are so incredibly proud of this year’s yearbook and cannot wait until you all see it!